The Chloé invitation came with a mini poster of a Rita Ackermann painting. The artist provided access to five additional pieces from the ’90s and ’00s at Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s request, and the designer used them as patches on the front and back of a button-down shirt, as a design on a blanket shawl (Leave Me Alone, 1995), and as an actual-size print for a flowing shirtdress. Golden totem sculptures by Marion Verboom decorated the runway, and Marianne Faithfull smokily read Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty” and other poems on the soundtrack. Still more women creatives joined the models on the catwalk. “It’s about a community of creative spirits,” Ramsay-Levi said at a preview of the collection. “Yes, clothes are great, but I love creative women.” They seemed to have a rub-off effect.
In the five runway shows that preceded this one, Ramsay-Levi swung from girly to career girl. Today she found her sweet spot, hitting on all the Chloé essentials—the tailoring, the soft blouses, the romantic dresses—but infusing them with personal touches that made them special. Suits leaned ’70s, with easy flaring pants and rolled-sleeve jackets. Her blouses had delicately jeweled buttons and cuff links, and her romantic dresses were alternately inset with bands of crochet at the hem or decorated with enamel embroidery at their peekaboo necklines. The Rita Ackermann prints worked a charm too. Fashion-art collaborations don’t typically seem so effortless. This was a significant turnaround from the spareness of last season, and the desirability of the clothes put smiles on the faces of the retailers we bumped into out in the rain afterward.
Jewelry is another one of the Chloé essentials. The little pins that were added in clusters to jacket lapels and pullover sweaters, the way you often see young women wear them, added to the overall sense of individuality. One of the pins read “girls forward,” which just about sums this collection up. “Chloé doesn’t stand for any one thing,” Ramsay-Levi said back in the showroom. “It’s an open identity, something for the woman who wears it to define.” Surrounded by her people, Ramsay-Levi put on her most confident Chloé show yet.
